<P>Safety in the Science Lab
<P>By Susan J. Nix and Randy J. Nix
<P>Susan J. Nix (snix@mail.wtamu.edu) is the program chair and associate professor for Educational Leadership at West Texas A&M University. 
<P>Randy J. Nix (randy.nix@ttu.edu) is a certified safety professional, a certified hazardous materials manager, and the managing director of the Department of Environmental Health and Safety at Texas Tech University. 


<P>Chemical safety, though sometimes overlooked, is an important component of school safety.
<P><I>Mr. Jones spent years in the field of environmental health and safety and had just gotten his first job as an alternatively certified science teacher at the high school level. He was excited about his new career of teaching and looking forward to setting up the science labs endorsed by the state curriculum.</I>
<P><I>As he explored the science classroom, his mind was filled with the idea of repeating the wonderful, rich experiences he had as a freshman in high school. Opening the storage cabinet to the chemicals, he expected to see neat rows of labeled containers. Instead, a jumble of old, rusted bottles with barely legible labels greeted him. Panic hit the pit of his stomach. He knew that he was looking at a potentially serious hazard.</I>
<P>The United States Environmental Protection Agency has a Web site specifically devoted to <A href="http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/conserve/clusters/schools/pdfs/recommend.pdf">chemical safety in schools</A>. The site states that "chemical mismanagement in schools has been an important issue in many states, districts and localities for some time. It may be an issue that you are concerned about in your own area.". If your science labs have chemical storage like the one described, perhaps this Web site and its accompanying reports will assist you. 
<P>This article cannot address <I>all</I> the potential problems, but we hope to get the science teacher on his or her way to a safer classroom environment, one that can enrich the learning of students with safe hands-on experiences. 
<P><B>What do you do?</B>
<P>Some of the chemicals may have to be discarded. Others may need to be placed in more suitable containment. Still others may just need to be stored away from the bulk of chemicals because of their potential incompatibility. 
<P>These are the steps you and your science teachers can take to ensure safer chemical storage: 
<P>1. Segregate the chemicals into the following hazard groups: corrosive, flammable, reactive, toxic, and unknown. Some of these will have sub-categories, such as acid or base in the corrosive group or air-reactive or water-reactive in the reactives group. The most problematic and potentially expensive group is the unknowns. Before these can be properly disposed of, they must be identified.
<P>2. Next, examine each of the identifiable chemicals to determine which will be needed for lessons and which are surplus. When you have physically separated what you intend to keep from the surplus, contact other schools in your district to determine if they can use your surplus. This saves them the cost of the chemicals and also saves the cost of unnecessary disposal.
<P>3. Make a list of the remaining chemicals. Your list should include the name, quantity, type of container, and hazard group. Do this for the unknown chemicals as well, including any information on their containers.
<P>4. If you have a large research or industrial facility nearby, contact them and ask if they have a hazardous waste disposal contractor. If so, get the disposal company's contact information. Contact the company to ask when they will be in the area next and whether you can fax your list of chemicals for a disposal estimate. The fact that they are already going to be in the area should allow them to give you a better price. You might also ask if they would be willing to handle your hazardous waste at the same prices as the facility from which you got their contact information. Most companies will do this. 
<P>If you don't have such a facility nearby, contact the closest university. Large universities conducting research usually have their own hazardous waste disposal contractors, and they may be able to assist you with the correct disposal at a reasonable rate. 
<P>5. Additionally, it is imperative to contact your state environmental agency to register and arrange for a one-time shipment of hazardous waste. They will have a number of questions about the hazardous waste and how it was generated. Depending on your state and the amount of hazardous waste you are shipping, they may require you to register as a hazardous waste generator. If so, you will most likely be registered as a conditionally exempt small quantity generator (CESQG). This is the lowest level of generator with the fewest regulatory requirements. Your state environmental agency will typically help you get registered and complete the necessary paperwork, clarify the disposal guidelines, and point you to additional waste-disposal information if necessary. 
<P>6. Be sure any agreement with the hazardous waste disposal contractor includes the stipulation that they will complete all necessary manifesting and associated documentation, because this can be quite complex for anyone unfamiliar with it. Most likely, you will need the assistance of someone in your district with the authority to sign the manifests.
<P>7. Also include in the agreement that you must receive a certificate of disposal or certificate of treatment for each manifested item. You should receive a signed copy of the manifest back within thirty days of shipment, and it should show that your hazardous waste has reached its destination and was signed for by someone at that facility. These documents are for the protection of the district, and it is important that you retain them for a minimum of three years.
<P>Although these procedures certainly apply to the chemicals in science laboratories, they may also apply to chemicals used in school maintenance and other areas. Pesticides, herbicides, and many other industrial chemicals must be properly disposed of to comply with federal and state laws. 
<P>Hopefully this information has given you some helpful guidance regarding disposal of unwanted chemicals. This article is certainly not presented as all you may need to know in dealing with hazardous waste. If you encounter something outside the scope of this article, please contact an environmental professional for assistance. Many environmental professionals offer volunteer assistance to school districts at no cost.
<P> "Instead of assuming a sense of security, schools, large and small, are making safety concerns an integral part of the educational mission" (Babcock, 2004). With some suggestions about how to catalogue the chemicals found in a school science lab, the teacher, administrators, and school district can proactively prevent unnecessary accidents. 
<P><B>Reference</B>
<P>Babcock, R. R. (March, 2004). The ABCs of safety: Latest trends in security and life-safety for educational facilities. <I>Buildings.</I> <A href="http://www.buildings.com/articles/detail.aspx?contentID=1780">http://www.buildings.com/articles/detail.aspx?contentID=1780</A>
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<P><B>Additional Resources</B>
<P>In addition to environmental professionals, the United States Department of Education lists a <A href="http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/crisisplanning.pdf">downloadable document</A> that contains a plethora of information for use by schools concerning the organization and response to a crisis situation. Included in the same document is an appendix of resources listing federal Web sites and contacts as well as individual state school safety centers. 
<P>For example, <A href="http://www.txssc.txstate.edu/txssc.htm">the Texas site</A> was developed in 1999 "to serve as a central location for school safety information, and to provide schools with research, training, and technical assistance to reduce youth violence and promote safety in the state." Located on this site is a helpful document, the <A href="http://www.txssc.txstate.edu/txssc/downloads/TxSSC/Audit/Campus%20Safety%20and%20Security%20Audit%20Toolkit%202008.pdf">Campus Safety and Security Audit Toolkit</A>. Page 26 of the toolkit contains a checklist that specifically addresses chemical storage in school labs. 
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